What is a Premium Wood Pellet?

An educated wood pellet consumer will be our best customer! As a consumer who heats, or is looking to heat their home or business with wood pellets, there are points that you should be aware of.

The first distinction is pellet grade. Pellet stoves for home heating use premium quality pellets. These are labeled as no. 1. Standard grade pellets, no. 2, are more suited to burning in larger pellet boilers, since they may be made from lower grades of feedstocks, including wood bark, and result in less heat and higher levels of ash.

Not all brands of premium pellets are created equal either, because not all pellets are made from the same materials to the same standards.

In today’s pellet fuel market it is hard to find a producer who doesn’t claim to produce a ‘premium’ pellet. So, what constitutes a premium wood pellet? What qualities must a bag of premium pellets possess?

First, the pellets should generate a minimum heat output of 8,000 BTUs/lb of pellets burned. They should have a moisture content (MC) of 10% or less. They should produce 1% ash or less by weight, and the pellets should be comprised of pure, natural, wood fibre with no bark, treated or recycled or reclaimed wood content, and certainly no chemical additive binders. In addition, a good quality pellet will produce very little dust when being poured from the bag, and the finely ground material at the bottom of the bag (fines) will be minimal.

As tested and certified, LacWood’s CANADA ‘A’ brand pellets exceed the specifications set for both North American and European standards to be classified as a ‘premium’ pellet. LacWood pellets are produced from clean, spruce and pine lumber shavings left over from the manufacture of other quality wood products and lumbers. There is absolutely no tree bark used in our pellets, which would result in less complete combustion and lower heat output.

As a consumer you want a quality product and value for your dollar and your time. LacWood pellets will give you those things, including one of the lowest ash ratings on the market, tested at 0.23%. And when you regularly clean and maintain your pellet stove, as recommended by the manufacturer, you will find that the greater ease of cleaning is just another bonus feature resulting from using LacWood pellets to heat your home or business.